LAUNCHING: See the new lab test results format for supplements, superfoods and fast food

10/20/2017 / By Mike Adams

As promised, the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center is rolling out a new format that details the lab test results for off-the-shelf products, including foods, supplements and fast food.

An example of the new format is shown below. It aggregates testing results from two mass spec lab instruments (ICP-MS and HPLC-MS-TOF), then assigns a final score according to the results of heavy metals, pesticides, antibiotics and more.

The chart recognizes products for being certified organic and Non-GMO Project Verified. Chemicals which are detected in “trace” amounts are indicated as “trace,” while chemicals that appear in significantly larger amounts may be assigned a grade of “Concern” or “AVOID.”

Here’s an example of the testing chart using a fictitious superfood example (this is not an actual product):

Company, Inc.: Sample Superfood Example

Testing Date: 10/18/2017
Lot Number: 999999
Sample Number: Company, Inc.

Certified Organic:

Labeled Non-GMO:

Ingredients Rating:

Low Heavy Metals Rating:

Pesticides/Herbicides:

Fungicides:

Antibiotics / Antibacterials:

Pharmacological Drugs:

Toxicological Drugs:

Industrial Chemicals:

All testing conducted in the public interest by the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center using an ISO-accredited laboratory, via mass spec technology. Consumer Wellness Center testing results explained | Manufacturers: How to dispute these results

What the test results mean

The testing results are explained at this new CWC page which describes the scoring calculation for each product and explains the technical meanings behind each category result. From that page:

CLEAR – Indicates that no such chemicals were detected by the HPLC-MS-TOF system (see technical limits of instrumentation, above).

TRACE – Chemicals were detected, but exist in “trace” levels that are common for the class of item tested (i.e. non-organic products, which are expected to contain pesticides and other chemicals).

CONCERN – One or more chemical was detected at an unusually high concentration that stands out in great contrast to other products in the same general category (organic, conventional, seafood, dog food, etc). While it may not violate FDA, USDA or EPA regulations, consumers may wish to exercise caution. Typically if we identify a product with a concern, we will acquire subsequent production lots and conduct repeat testing to determine whether the chemical of concern persists across multiple manufacturing lots.

AVOID – Contains such a high amount of a substance that the CWC recommends avoiding this item completely. Even so, this item may not necessarily violate current FDA, USDA or EPA regulations, which allow virtually unlimited quantities of many chemicals in the food supply. This is a rare designation.

Where to find more lab test results for off-the-shelf products

We are going to be broadcasting the actual results for off-the-shelf products via Good Gopher Mail, a free inbox service for receiving uncensored emails. Register for a free inbox at this link.

Lab test results will also be available in the next upgrade of the Natural News app, available for both iPhone and Android devices.

For the new chart format, we’ve also added a dispute mechanism for manufacturers who disagree with our results, so they have a process for challenging our reporting if they disagree with the results. That process is described at this link.

Here’s another example of an actual product result. This is real data, showing the perfect score (100 out of 100) for Ancient Nutrition’s Organic Bone Broth product: